tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33952402013-03-19T10:48:17.440ZA libertarian returns to Scotland<p> <i>"Freedom and Whisky gang thegither"</i><br> - Robert Burns</p>David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.comBlogger2714125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-24044929200834394572012-11-19T15:29:00.001Z2012-11-19T15:50:14.617Z2012-11-19T15:50:14.617Z

I've more-or-less given up on reading stuff about the economic prospects of an independent Scotland. We'd be prosperous or poor according to the extent that property rights are supported. That's about it.But I just can't stop myself reading this sort of thing:Scotland’s economic future would be brighter if North Sea oil and gas revenues were allocated on a geographical basis, as the IFS claims

David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-84651063557829494302012-11-05T16:07:00.001Z2012-11-05T16:24:15.712Z2012-11-05T16:24:15.712Z

For the past few weeks I’ve been downloading old comments onto this new template and it’s been quite a job. So let’s go back to the beginning of Freedom and Whisky. I started F&W back in April 2002 using the original system developed by Blogger.com. Back in those days blogs didn’t have comments. Then a company by the name of Haloscan came up with some software that could be placed onto the

David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-56346186200545348152012-10-31T11:12:00.000Z2012-10-31T12:55:48.160Z2012-10-31T12:55:48.160Z

I'm still copying the comments across from my old template to this new one. It's very interesting re-reading some of my old posts. Like this one from July 2004: The Bank of Scotland: RIP Ever since the "merger" of the Bank of Scotland with the Halifax there's been an outpouring of complaints from irate customers of "The Bank". Hardly a day goes by without a letter being published in the

David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-30107831191796339562012-10-24T17:25:00.000+01:002012-10-24T18:06:04.314+01:002012-10-24T18:06:04.314+01:00

What a week for the SNP. They're in big trouble over EUgate and NATOgate. But it really is their own fault, isn't it? It's the SNP's fault because they shouldn't hold any opinion on whether an independent Scotland should be in the EU or in Nato. It is of course conceivable that someone may think that getting nuclear weapons out of Scotland is their number one political objective. They may then

David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-66389200860230015062012-10-08T18:35:00.001+01:002012-10-08T18:35:47.186+01:002012-10-08T18:35:47.186+01:00

Tornado, a photo by David Farrer on Flickr.At Leuchars Airshow.

David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-43582681266182087662012-10-08T17:13:00.000+01:002012-10-08T17:17:38.465+01:002012-10-08T17:17:38.465+01:00

Here's the key quote from her speech in Birmingham:It is staggering that public sector expenditure makes up a full 50% of Scotland’s GDP and only 12% of households are net contributors, where the taxes they pay outweigh the benefits they receive through public spending.Only 12% are responsible for generating Scotland’s wealth. There are people with household incomes of £50,000 who are paying

David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-56746858114514035652012-09-30T11:09:00.002+01:002012-09-30T11:09:25.576+01:002012-09-30T11:09:25.576+01:00

Why is it that the only e-mails identified as junk by Demon's e-mail system are Demon's own bills for Internet service provision?

David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-75277705629996583122012-09-26T12:05:00.002+01:002012-09-26T12:05:41.714+01:002012-09-26T12:05:41.714+01:00

I am gradually posting comments from the old template onto this new one. All comments for 2011 and 2012 should now be readable.

David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-36432649781342989272012-09-25T12:32:00.000+01:002012-09-26T12:06:32.325+01:002012-09-26T12:06:32.325+01:00

The BBC has produced a rather good documentary on Hayek. My photo of Hayek taken outside Buckingham Palace appears at 53:37.Thanks to Andy Duncan's blog for alerting me to the BBC programme.

David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-48323643022997623442012-09-09T17:22:00.000+01:002012-09-09T17:22:06.849+01:002012-09-09T17:22:06.849+01:00

I'm in the market for a new sweater. My late mother used to work part-time in a shop in Keswick and they had a wonderful supply of sweaters made from the wool of the local Herdwick Sheep. No longer, as I noticed when I was down there recently. In fact, I was astounded at how difficult it seems to be to source another Herdwick sweater. There's a good business opportunity for someone. But this

David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-23826848641927381182012-09-08T19:03:00.000+01:002012-09-08T19:11:46.632+01:002012-09-08T19:11:46.632+01:00

The question of Heathrow expansion has been going on for as long as I can remember: The announcement means that the debate over whether Heathrow should have a third runway, or whether a new airport should be built in the Thames Estuary, which has split the Conservative ranks, will drag on for many more months. For some reason a third Heathrow runway would take around ten years to construct and

David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-61999237496917516592012-09-04T19:10:00.002+01:002012-09-04T19:10:47.297+01:002012-09-04T19:10:47.297+01:00

I've ditched the Disqus system as according to their site it's failed to load comments older than two years but they didn't show on the blog up anyway! I've now switched on Blogger's own commenting system. Back ups of all previous comments are on my computer and I may try to reinstate them at some time in the future.

David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-27601128427680926142012-09-03T19:41:00.001+01:002012-09-03T19:43:12.328+01:002012-09-03T19:43:12.328+01:00

OK, so it wasn't taken in Scotland. Or perhaps it was! Cumbria used to be part of the Kingdom of Strathclyde...

David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-29813695956237331692012-09-01T09:47:00.002+01:002012-09-03T10:30:22.503+01:002012-09-03T10:30:22.503+01:00

Testing new template

David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-31544531473628686832012-07-02T20:20:00.002+01:002012-09-05T09:41:49.998+01:002012-09-05T09:41:49.998+01:00

Alex Salmond's been in a bit of trouble recently over whether to go for the Euro, start a new Scottish currency, or keep the pound. Keeping the pound, like keeping the Queen, all seems a bit, well, unionist, does it not? Actually, I don't think so. Despite its bizarre name the Bank of England is a UK institution and is therefore just as much Scottish as it is English. Similarly Her Majesty is

David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-72996844250949409352012-07-01T19:04:00.003+01:002012-07-01T19:10:17.948+01:002012-07-01T19:10:17.948+01:00

Alex Singleton has a post up on his Daily Mail blog. Alex calls for a new elected UK Senate to be situated "up North". Alex suggests Manchester.Naturally I had to respond: Good idea Alex.But in UK terms Manchester isn't in the North. It's only just beyond the end of the Metropolitan Line. The mid-point of the UK mainland is Kendal. If we count the offshore islands the centre of the country is

David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-10069709561113611332012-05-18T12:12:00.002+01:002012-05-18T12:16:06.544+01:002012-05-18T12:16:06.544+01:00

Ten?A hundred?A thousand?Probably far more if this is implemented:Amateur Photographer (AP) can exclusively reveal that Glasgow Subway passengers will be told they must ‘not take photographs, or make video, audio or visual recordings on any part of the subway'.These authoritarian bansturbators are a menace to civilised society. The Glasgow Subway is one of the city's great icons and it's exactly

David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-90719108955021558392012-05-16T19:49:00.001+01:002012-05-16T19:54:08.570+01:002012-05-16T19:54:08.570+01:00

Scottish Cup, a photo by David Farrer on Flickr.

David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-47240492701450327152012-05-16T19:48:00.003+01:002012-05-16T19:55:30.700+01:002012-05-16T19:55:30.700+01:00

Scottish Cup, a photo by David Farrer on Flickr.

David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-84719315725526396862012-05-16T19:48:00.001+01:002012-05-16T19:56:00.053+01:002012-05-16T19:56:00.053+01:00

Scottish Cup, a photo by David Farrer on Flickr.

David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-61323289378460732582012-05-07T17:08:00.001+01:002012-05-07T17:17:44.829+01:002012-05-07T17:17:44.829+01:00

I don't live in Midlothian East but if I did I'd have voted for Peter de Vink last week.Brian Monteith writes about the de Vink victory in today's ScotsmanIf there is any doubt that the Conservatives have become a toxic brand, the council election victory of Peter de Vink will dispel it, writes Brian MonteithMonteith concludesIt should not need repeating, but I shall say it yet again. The

David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-57378083792280478852012-04-25T17:56:00.000+01:002012-04-25T18:12:02.186+01:002012-04-25T18:12:02.186+01:00

Just when I thought that the state could sink no lower I read this:A transplant ambulance driver has been found guilty of speeding while travelling from Edinburgh with a human organ on board.Andy Thomson, 46, from Blyth in Northumberland, got three penalty points and a £60 fine.Fortunately the liver was delivered from Edinburgh to Leeds in time for a transplant operation.It seems that there's

David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-88441761009794716502012-04-23T16:28:00.002+01:002012-04-23T17:25:53.580+01:002012-04-23T17:25:53.580+01:00

The Mail carries an article by Dominic Sandbrook about Ferdinand Mount's new book.Mount's theme is that Britain is run by an out-of-date and out-of-touch self-perpetuating elite. I have no argument with that, but I don't quite think that Sandbrook or Mount have understood the real problem.Consider this extract:Mount gives the example of High Bickington, a village in Devon which put forward a

David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-76660540943956098782012-04-22T12:26:00.000+01:002012-04-22T18:37:33.787+01:002012-04-22T18:37:33.787+01:00

Readers may be wondering why comments are currently appearing in the main view rather than in a separate clickable window. It's all to do with the closing down of my current commenting system at the end of September. The Freedom and Whisky template goes way back to the days when Blogger was an independent company. Back then, there were no commenting facilities on the template. After a while a

David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3395240.post-80701667706326505502012-04-21T15:32:00.002+01:002012-04-21T15:32:53.503+01:002012-04-21T15:32:53.503+01:00

This is a great book that should be read by everyone.

David Farrerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09483264039944116992noreply@blogger.com0